beliefs. In this way we may hope to
gain a clearer insight into their mental life, and to secure a better
idea of the values they attach to certain of their activities than
is afforded us by actual observation or by direct inquiry. It is also
possible that the tales may give us a glimpse of the early conditions
under which this people developed, of their life and culture before
the advent of the European.

It should be noted at the outset that no attempt is here made to
reconstruct an actual historical period. As will appear later, a
part of the material is evidently very old; later introductions--to
which approximate dates may be assigned--have assumed places of great
importance; while the stories doubtless owe much to the creative
imaginations of successive story-tellers.

A comparison of these tales with the folk-lore of neighboring tribes
would be of greatest value, but unfortunately very little material
for such a study is available. Under the circumstances it has seemed
best to defer the attempt and to call attention in the footnotes to
striking similarities with other fields.

In the main these tales are so closely associated with the religious
beliefs of the present day that it is unlikely they will be found,
in anything approaching their present form, outside the districts
dominated by this tribe. Nevertheless, isolated incidents corresponding
to those of neighboring peoples or even of distant lands occur
several times.

Observation has led me to the belief that the religious organization
and ceremonies of the Tinguian have reached a higher development
than is found among the neighboring tribes, and that this complexity
decreases as we penetrate toward the interior or to the south. If
this be true, it seems evident that the tales based on or associated
with them must likewise grow weaker as we go from Abra.

I wish here to acknowledge my indebtedness to Dr. Franz Boas and
Dr. Berthold Laufer, whose interest and suggestions have been of
greatest value in the preparation of the material for publication;
also to express my gratitude to the late Robert F. Cummings, under
whose liberal endowment the field work was carried on. His constant
interest made possible the gathering of the extensive Philippine
collections now in the Museum, and it is a matter of deep regret
that he did not live to see all the results of his generosity made
available to the reading public.

Fay-Cooper Cole,

Assistant Curator of